La Mom Kitchen

The xiao long bao arrived in a bamboo steamer, six dumplings with skins so thin you could see the broth sloshing inside. We bit carefully, letting the scalding pork and ginger soup pool onto the spoon before slurping it down with a hit of black vinegar. This is the dish that tells you La Mom Kitchen is not another suburban Chinese takeout spot. The stir-fried shredded eel in a stone pot, a Shanghainese specialty you rarely find outside Chicago's Chinatown, arrived bubbling and caramelized at the edges, the eel tender and lightly sweet against the hot clay. Downtown Naperville needed a restaurant that treats regional Chinese cooking with this level of specificity, and La Mom delivers: Shanghainese soup dumplings, Sichuan-influenced wok dishes, and a menu that rewards adventurous ordering. The dining room on Jefferson Avenue is elegant enough for date night but welcoming enough for a family Sunday dinner.